Re: [LAD] Digital Effects

On Friday 22 August 2014 11:35:34 tom(a)trellis.ch did opine And Gene did reply: And there is nothing that assaults ones ears more than someone who thinks he has to have a room thumping bass line, sets it so the axe and drums are about +20 db, then runs it all thru a fast compressor, "ducking" the rest of the music in time with the bass. I had the pleasure of mixing for KISS back in the later '70's, when they were fairly new, and had stopped into KIVA-TV on a steamy labor day and offered to do a few hours of music for Jerry's Kids as they weren't due for the next show, someplace in Texas till the next evening. I purposely set the axe and drums to be maybe 3 db above the rest of it. I taped about 5 minutes of it as it went to air and invited Gene to come listen on our cheap control room monitor when that set was over, which he did intently for about 4 minutes without a comment, but as the tune was winding down he said that was the best "amateur" recording he had heard so far. Our compressor at the time was one of the best, a CBS Labs Audimax. It kept us legal, but it took a well trained ear to detect that it was actually doing anything. I was so impressed by its general invisibility that every place I went for the next 30 years soon had one of those replacing whatever the latest sound wrecker was installed by some gung ho previous "engineer". When I took the position at WDTV, I was in the GM's office 2 days later pleading for money to go buy a used one, the then brand new DBX-165 that had been installed 3 weeks earlier pumped and breathed so bad I compared it to the bedroom sounds from the night before. The girl that did all the CG work said it reminded her of why they spelled sex es ee ex, because no one could spell uh, uh UH, UH ,UGH,UGHHHHaaaw. Strange, the things an old fart remembers. :) Today the only other compressor I'd bolt into the audio rack would be an Orban. But weld a cover over the controls so the Program Director can't try to "make it louder". He'll make it louder yes, and get you cited for overmod, and cost your station 5 points in the next ratings book because ears get tired of that crap quickly & the dial gets turned to something less obnoxious, a death sentence in a multi-station market. BTDT. Cheers, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene> US V Castleman, SCOTUS, Mar 2014 is grounds for Impeaching SCOTUS